1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a carton construction, and more particularly, to a foldable carton construction which provides a plurality of compartments or cells of unequal size in the interior of the carton. The invention also relates to a unitary blank for manufacturing the carton.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The carton of the present invention is particularly suited for use in fast food restaurants. Such restaurants serve a variety of food items including pieces of fish, chicken, and other meats, carbohydrates such as breaded onion rings and french fries, hamburgers, drinks, and the like. In the past, the containers used by such establishments have usually comprised an open-ended package, e.g., large and small bags, for receiving the food. Some packages have consisted of a tray formed from expanded polystyrene or paperboard provided with a hinged lid to maintain the food at a warm temperature when sold to the customer.
Because the various items of food sold by fast food restaurants are of different sizes, it would be desirable if a carton for such food included a plurality of internal compartments of different sizes. With such a carton, each of the various items of food making up a meal could have its own compartment or cell. This would serve to separate the various foods from each other, as well as protecting the entire meal during transit. For example, one compartment could be designed to hold the meat component of the meal, while other compartments could be used to hold such items as french fries or onion rings. Other compartments could hold condiments or eating utensils. Under some circumstances, one of the compartments might be sized to hold a drink container.
In addition to providing separation between the various food items making up a meal, a carton having individual compartments for each food item would provide a convenient way to ensure that all the components of a meal are actually supplied to each customer. This would occur because the person putting together the meal would know immediately by observing an empty compartment that an item of food had not been included in the carton. Also, because the compartments would be of unequal sizes, the person would know which item or items were missing. In the past, the various items of food making up a meal have been typically placed in one large package without individualized compartments, and thus mistakes could easily be made in determining whether or not all items of food had been included.
In addition to providing individualized compartments of different sizes, a carton for use in fast food restaurants should collapse into a small size for shipping and storage. This is so because fast food restaurants serve a high volume of food and thus require storage of a relatively large inventory of cartons.
In addition to its applications in the fast food industry, a foldable carton with a plurality of internal compartments of unequal sizes would, for the same reasons, be highly desirable in schools, hospitals and other institutional settings.